***Each response needs to be ½ page or more*** Respond to two colleagues who chose a different Bowenian concept in analyzing the events, and offer an alternative viewpoint. Colleague 1: Denise: Helen is emotionally attached to her mother and her son Alec. According to Bowen's theory the family is viewed as an emotional unit. Helen becomes very upset because her son is making 'bad' decisions which are in turn affecting her mother, her marriage, and herself. A breakdown in communication began to happen when Alec moved in with his Grandmother. In my opinion Helen viewed Alec as her relief, she no longer needed to stress about her mother, because her son was there to take care of her. When Alec's behaviors began to come into question, Helen's world began to crumble and the stresses of taking care of her mother began to creep back into her life. If you apply Bowen's triangular theory to the Petrakis family you can see the how Helen's relationship with her mother was deteriorating, because she felt torn between her mother, and her husband. Helen was hoping for some relief by bringing in a third person (Alec) to help spread some of her tension. However, the tension was not relived, it grew even stronger because of the poor choices Alec had made. Colleague 2: Julie Bowen’s family theory could be beneficial in treatment in the case of the Petrakis family. Helen Petrakis presents as emotionally distressed and overwhelmed (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2013). Helen appears to be in a fused relationship with several members of her family (Plummer, et al., 2013). She overextends herself to protect the emotional state of all the members of her family. She wants to make her husband happy by taking care of his aged and ailing mother (Plummer, et al., 2013). She wants to make her mother-in-law happy by taking care of her needs (Plummer, et al., 2013). She wants to make her children happy by taking care of all of the things that they do not want to do, like laundry, financial matters, and other things that they are old enough to manage (Plummer, et al., 2013). Helen’s response to all that is involved in this role she has taken on is anxiety (Plummer, et al., 2013). Bowen’s theory suggests that fusion can be demonstrated by an extreme sense of responsibility for the reactions of another family member (Brown, 1999). Fused relationships can be seen in the anxious reactions to perceived demands (Brown, 1999). The person in a fused relationship is typically not able to talk about issues directly with the other person or understand that there are choices available to them (Brown, 1999). Helen is experiencing anxiety as a reaction to the perceived expectation of her husband, John to care for his mother (Plummer, et al., 2013). The second concept that demonstrates the effectiveness of Bowen’s family theory in the case of the Petrakis family is triangles. Helen’s husband, John, and their son, Alec, have been experiencing tension and conflict (Plumme ...